The Iraqi government will ask the United States for the investigative files into allegations that U.S. Marines killed Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gestures during a news conference in Baghdad June 1, 2006. [Reuters]

Asked if he would demand the files, Maliki told reporters without elaborating: "Yes."

U.S. defense officials have said murder charges may be brought against Marines following an investigation into the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha, which some commentators are comparing to the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam.

Maliki, who took office last month, said he first heard of events in the western town through the media.

"I hope it (the investigation) will be fair for the sake of all the victims," he said.

On Thursday, Maliki condemned the suspected killings in Haditha in November as a "terrible crime."

Asked if the United States would be prepared to hand over the files, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the matter had not yet been discussed.

But he said a meeting about Haditha would be held later on Friday with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey.